NEW YORK (AP) — Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny’s music catalog has seen a jump in streams since his 2026 Super Bowl halftime performance was announced.
According to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company, Latin music is primarily consumed via streaming. They found that Bad Bunny saw a 26% increase in on-demand streams in the United States following the Sept. 28 announcement, soaring from 173 million nine days before the announcement to 218.5 million streams in the eight days that followed.
The singer born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio recently said concerns about the mass deportation of Latinos played into his decision to bypass the mainland U.S. during his residency. He performs in Spanish and will do so at the Super Bowl, further proving that connecting with a U.S. and international audience does not require singing in English.
Since the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Bad Bunny will lead the halftime festivities from Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California, the selection has provoked conversation.
For his fans, Bad Bunny’s booking at the Super Bowl is viewed as a landmark moment for Latino culture. That feeling is no doubt related to his just-concluded, 31-date residency in Puerto Rico that brought approximately half a million people to the island during the slow summer tourism season and generated an estimated $733 million for the island.
Roc Nation founder Jay-Z said in a statement that what Bad Bunny has “done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring. We are honored to have him on the world’s biggest stage.”
He is a known global hitmaker who ties his music to Puerto Rican identity, colonial politics and immigrant struggles.
On Saturday, Bad Bunny hosted the season 51 premiere of “Saturday Night Live” with a few jokes about his forthcoming Super Bowl halftime show.
He has long been critical of President Donald Trump and backed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Some Trump supporters consider his Super Bowl booking to be a divisive political pick.
“I’ve never heard of him,” Trump said in an interview on conservative news network Newsmax when asked about Bad Bunny. “I don’t know who he is… I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s, like, crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
By MARIA SHERMAN
AP Music Writer
